Following on from the battle between iPad and spoon, the
next clash takes a more cultural shift as the man regarded by many as the
greatest author of all time, Charles Dickens, takes on the zany residents of
Beanotown.
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens was one of the most influential writers of
the Victorian era and wrote some of the most famous novels of all time such as
Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A
Christmas Carol and Great
Expectations. His novel A Tale of Two
Cities, published in 1859, is said to be the best-selling novel of all time
(yes, even more than Shitelight).
Dickens first came to prominence for his writing on The Pickwick Papers, written under his pseudonym, Boz. The Pickwick Papers was written in a serial format that was to become Dickens modus operandi throughout his literary career.
Dickens would often use his writing to highlight social
issues, such as conditions in workhouses and debter’s prisons, drawing on his own experiences of having spent time in such institutions. The middle
classes were either unaware of these conditions or chose to ignore them. Charles Dickens became a great advocate for social change in Britain.
But did Dickens ever write a
story about a boy terrorising a town with a catapult and help from a small dog?
No he didn’t but he could have.
Charles Dickens works have lasted over a 140 years since his death in 1870 and are
still enjoyed by many today. His stories have successfully made the leap from print to screen, most notably A Christmas
Carol which to date has had 4367 different versions made of it (but The
Muppets one is still the best).
The Beano
The Beano started
life in 1938 as a sister comic to The
Dandy and has been published every week since then (barring a period during
World War Two, when it alternated fortnightly with The Dandy due to paper shortages), entertaining generations of children and adults alike.
The Beano has produced many iconic characters in its pages
such as Rodger the Dodger, The Bash
Street Kids* and Minnie the Minx.
But most well-known of all is the black and red hooded jumper wearing figure of
Dennis the Menace.
By a weird coincidence in the same week Dennis first
appeared in the Beano in 1951, a character of the same name also appeared in
American comics for the first time. But that Dennis was rubbish so let’s not
dwell on him.
Dennis was soon joined by his Abyssinian wire-tripe hound
friend Gnasher and the pair have been inseparable ever since, wreaking havoc
wherever they go. Not only in comics but also on their BBC television series.
The Beano is the
last comic left standing from the Great Comic War that raged from the 60’s
onwards. The Beezer, The Topper, Buster and
Whizzer and Chips are just some of
the comics that fell by the wayside amongst countless others (even the
once-mighty Dandy has now closed its
printing presses).
The Winner is: Well, I want to give it to Charles Dickens
for all the iconic characters he created and his cultural influence. On the other
hand, Gnasher does have a nasty bite so I’d better give this to….The Beano
*the names of all The Bash Street Kids: Danny, Plug, Spotty,
Fatty, Sidney, Toots, Smiffy, ‘Erbert and Wilfred.
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